Journey Through the Deadlands
by Iket45
Summary: The dragons have successfully conquered all of Ishgar. The guilds were helpless against their might. Everyone he once knew is dead. Now Romeo travels the lands with his companions trying to survive in a dead world. With little hope of salvation, they push forward with the memories of their loved ones pushing them forward. Romeo now pushes forward to find a way to fix the world.
1. The new world

**A/N: So I should probably explain the backstory to this. I wrote this back in Mid March but it was lost for a bit. I wanted to post it at the start of April but I was a bit busy and forgot. But it is here now and I hope you guys enjoy it. As always, if you enjoy then Follow, Favorite, and/or Review. I really appreciate it. If you guys have any ideas for the story then let me know either through the reviews or through PM. I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

 **Bold=Loud yelling**

 _Italics= thoughts_

 _Underline+Italics= Spell_

Three people are walking through the mountains full of wildlife. They hike up swerving around trees and bushes cautious not to make too much noise.

"Come on guys we need to hurry."

"We're nearly there, it's just a few more miles."

"Let's stop for a break. It won't do us good if we pass out before we get there."

The Three people stop their trek across the mountains and sit under some nearby trees.

The first person is a young man. He has long black hair with the tips dyed neon green and a blue eye and a green eye. He is wearing a long black shirt and blue, torn jeans. He hold a walking stick and a small blue bag.

The second person is a young woman. She has short brown hair and brown eyes. She is wearing a tight purple shirt with white sleeves. Her shirt reads "I wake up like this". She wears blue jeans, a gray sweater and a purple backpack.

The third person is a second young man. He wears a blue shirt which has both sleeves torn off. He wears black shorts and has a white, scale-like sash torn around his waist. He has long dark purple hair which covers his left eye. We wears a medallion which has been broken in half. He wears a black backpack which is missing a strap.

"So do you think this will be the actual one, or another fake like the others?" The girl asks.

"I'm not sure Jess but I hope this is the one." the black haired boy tells her.

"Well the land isn't completely ruined so that's a plus."

"Tell me Jason where did you hear about this location?"

"I was reading the book Romeo carries with him. Romeo why do you have such a complicated book with you?."

"It was a gift from an old friend. First time it actually helped though."

"Who goes there?" Romeo shouted.

The group stops and looks around with Romeo staring at some trees.

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you." a girl said as she came out of the trees. "It's just nobody comes up here so when someone does, you tend to check them out."

The girl wore a bright blue dress. She had blue hair with blue eyes. Everything about her just screamed blue.

"Well I can understand that."

"Don't you know it's dangerous to just walk up to strangers." Jess told her.

Jess walked up to the girl and put her finger on the girl's chin. "Don't you know people can be dangerous.?"

"Yes u do."

"Then why do you walk up to 3 strangers you don't even know?"

"I don't believe you're bad people."

"Well I'm sorry to tell but there aren't any people who are just good. Everyone has done something bad, especially now of days."

Everyone was quiet for a moment after Jess's comment.

"Well there aren't very many of us left so I thought it be best for us to band together."

"Tell us what's your name." Romeo asked the girl.

"The name's Mary. I live in a small village on the other side of the mountain."

"Then how did you know we were here?"

"I use sensory magic, I can detect people who are pretty far away. Plus we're nearly over the mountain."

"Can we come to your village?"

"Sure just let me lead the way."

Mary jumped in front of the other 3 teens and started walking in the path she came from. After about 20 minutes of walking, they came to a house.

"Where are the other houses?"

"There aren't need for any others." she said before her body started to glow. A blue aura surrounded Mary before she started to grow. As she grew, her skin started to become scales. Wings came from her back, claws from her hands and feet, and fangs replaced her teeth.

"I'm sorry to deceive you but you entered my territory." She said

"No you didn't deceive us, actually you helped us so thanks." Jason told the dragon.

"What do you mean I helped you."

"Well we are trying to find something and the first clue to know if we are close is a dragon guarding the entrance to the lands so thank you."

"You don't honestly think you can defeat me, do you."

"You won't be the first dragon we've defeated."

"Alright it's another dragon so be careful."Romeo shouted.

"Die you humans." the dragon shouted as she went to claw Jason.

The claws moved with lightning speed until they hit Jason when they stopped. The dragon looked to see the half of Jason body had turned into a crystal.

"Your claws may be strong, but they can't cut diamond." Jason announced as the rest of his body turned into diamonds.

" _Earth God's Bellow"_ Jess shouted as a vortex of earth attacked the dragon. "Even if you're a dragon, this will hurt.

"You lousy humans I'll kill you." Mary shouted as she started building for an attack. "You should have never messed with the blue fire dragon."

The dragon prepared to fire before Romeo appeared in front of the Dragon putting his hand up.

"You should've thought better before you used fire." Romeo announced before his hair moved away from his face revealing a claw mark going through his left eye.

" _Implosion"_ Romeo stated before the fire exploded inside of Mary's body. "All fire bows before me. Any who try to use it, especially a dragon shall receive no mercy.

Holes started to appear on the dragon's body releasing the fire.

"How are you so adept at fighting dragon?" the dragon asked.

"Once your kind attacked, it's become survival of the fittest for this world."

" _Fire Elemental Burning Strike"_ Romeo shouted as he jumped to the dragons with an ignited fist and uppercut it.

"Come on we got to hurry before more arrive."

"Aww Romeo you just had to take the kill, it was suppose to be my turn." Jess wined.

"Enough with the turns. As long as we defeated then everything is good." Jason added.

"At least we know we are on the right track now."

9-7-7XX

We are finally getting on the right track to find the way out of this hellhole. It's been a few years since the dragons came. I have long forgotten the year but I believe I still know the month and day. In case we don't get to the portal I write this to whoever is lucky enough to find it. There is rumored to be a portal which can sent whoever uses it to a different timeline. Hopefully we can prevent this tragedy for everyone. My name is Romeo Conbolt, the last surviving member of the guild once known as Fairy Tail.


	2. Unexpected Visitor

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read this story. I hope you enjoy. Follow, Favorite, and/or Review if you enjoy. Feedback would be greatly appreciated even if it is criticism.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

 _Underline+Italics= Spell_

A man with black and white hair walking into a mountain range smelling the air around him.

"I know they went this direction. How far ahead could they have gotten?" he asked himself.

He keeps walking until he runs into a large corpse. He rushes over to it and sees the wounds on the dead Dragon's body.

"Look what happened to you. You've been protecting this land for years and look how they treated you."

In the ruins of a village

The trio explore the village looking for anything which could be useful. After a while they all meet up in a building which looked like it was once a bar.

"You two find anything?" Romeo asked the teens.

"Nothing we could use." Jason responded.

"It seems like this place was like this for much longer than the Dragon's reappearance." Romeo pointed out.

"Can we take a rest. We've been walking for two straight days and I'm exhausted." Jess complained.

"We will rest soon but it seems we and rent alone." Romeo said putting the three on guard.

The trio prepared themselves pointing at the door as a dog walks in.

"Ha it was just a dog. You didn't need to scare us like that Romeo." Jason exclaimed.

Romeo walked up to the dog and fire surrounded the dog. "Show us your true form and I might let you live."

"Romeo what are you doing." Jess asked.

The dog began to glow and changed into the form of a young girl. She appeared to be in her early teens. She wore a purple dress and had blond hair.

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just looking for my family. I haven't seen them in a while and I'm not good around others." the girl explained.

Romeo went over to a nearby booth as Jess walked up to the girl.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"My name is Wendy." The girl answered.

Upon hearing the name, Romeo's face changed from its normal look of non expression to a look of discomfort.

"Well it's nice to meet you Wendy. My name is Jess. That's Jason over there and Romeo is the one who was talking to you before. So when was the last time you saw your family?"

"It's been a while. They told me to go hide in a cave. When I came out they were gone."

"How far away was this cave."

"Not too far. It's a little bit of a walk."

"Well how about you show us where it is and we can see if your family is nearby."

"Best to wait on that Jess, it's getting dark and you know how dangerous it is to go out at night." Jason pointed out.

"Well we've been out the last couple nights and it wasn't a problem then." Jess argued.

"Weren't you just saying how you were tired. Plus if we got attacked we aren't in the best form to be fighting anyone right now."

"Fine we'll go in the morning. Let's get some rest."

As everyone fell asleep Romeo walked outside and looked out at the moon.

" _Why did she have to have the same name." Romeo thought to himself._

Romeo put his hand onto his left eye. "Even with all I've lost, why am I the one still here." Romeo asked himself. "Didn't we agree that this was going to be different than how the rest ended up."

Romeo went back inside as he slept on the other side of the bar, away from his companions. As he slept he came to a seen he had seen many times by now. He was in a city, everything was falling down, burning around him. He looked around calling to someone but he couldn't hear his own words.

Romeo ran through the city calling out, to no avail. He ran and ran looking for, for something. He ran until he was something coming towards him. Everything went quiet as he heard the two words that had been burned forever into his mind, 'Look out'.

"Romeo, it's dawn." Romeo heard someone say waking him from his sleep. Romeo opened his eye to see Jess standing above him. Romeo started getting up as Jess put her hand on Romeo's shoulder.

"Is something bothering you?" Jess asked.

"Nothing more than usual. Come on, we have something new to do thanks to your snooping." Romeo teased.

"Well excuse me for being a decent human being." Jess almost shouted.

"Wait, you can be a decent person, I thought that was too difficult for you." Jason shouted from the door.

"Hey I can be nice if I want to." Jess now definitely shouted.

"Alright you two will have plenty of time to argue later. For now we have a cave to get to." Romeo shouted loudly startling the other two.

30 minutes later

The group walk through the forest with only a small amount of arguing.

"So what are your parents like?" Jess asked Wendy.

"My mom is a nice lady. She worked with my dad at the bakery. They made the best bread you could imagine." Wendy replied.

"I wish I could have some of that bread. Some fresh bread would be great right about now." Jason exclaimed.

"Some fresh good would be great. Now how far until we reach the cave?" Jess asked.

"We're about to get there it's just a bit further." Wendy revealed.

After a few more minutes of walking Wendy turned towards Romeo.

"So Romeo why were you so rude when I came to you guys. You don't seem to be the friendliest one of the group." Wendy asked.

"Well with how life is now of days, you can't be too careful." Romeo responded.

"What do you mean? Life hasn't been too hard has it?"

Before anyone had a chance to answer, a large cave became visible.

"There's the cave, let's hurry!" Wendy shouted as she ran towards the cave.

The trio run to catch up with Wendy. As they approach the cave, they notice that symbols had been carved into the walls and a book lying on a pedestal. Romeo picked up the book and began to read it as Jess and Jason went over to Wendy.

"Why did your parents send you to such an old, rundown cave?" Jason asked.

"It wasn't this old when I first came. I didn't notice it looking this old until now." Wendy replied.

"Are you telling me that it wasn't this old when you first got here?" Jess asked surprised.

"Well I think I could answer that question." An unknown voice answered. Everyone besides Romeo who kept reading the book turned to see a man with black and white hair standing at the cave entrance.

"Who are you and what do you mean you could explain what happened?" Jason questioned the man.

"Well let me introduce myself. My name is Rogue," the man now known as Rogue raised his hand and a large group of humanize dragon creatures appeared.

 **A/N: The creatures are basically the hatchling that the most of the mages fought during the big dragon fight right after the Grand Magic Games.**

"And I don't have to explain anything to you murderers."

"What do you mean murderers?" Wendy asked.

"Well let me explain, these three have been going around murdering innocent dragons." Rogue answered.

"We've only killed those who tried to kill us." Jess argued.

"Well maybe you two have but let's just say that he might not be in the same category as you two." Rouge replied pointing at Romeo who was still reading the book.

"Please tell me this isn't true." Wendy pleaded.

"Well it looks like there is more going on here then we originally knew." Romeo announced completely ignoring Wendy. "Apparently the citizens of that ruined village along with Wendy all had a magic which allowed them to turn into different animals and magical beasts as long as they've been in contact with them before."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jess asked.

"This cave wasn't some ordinary cave. This book was a research log. The mages were being hunted down due to their strength. They were trying to develop a way to transport themselves into the future where it was hopefully safer for them to leave." Romeo explained

"Looks like you catch on fast." Rogue commented.

"Before they could finish their research, the village was attacked. During the attack a girl was used as a test subject to possibly save the magic and the clan. After the attack, only one person survived, the child's mother. She then dedicated her life to protect the land in hope that her child would return."

"Wait if all that is true then" Jess started to say.

"Then that would mean that this girl is the one who was sent through time, about five hundred years if my research was correct." Rogue finished.

"Wait if that's all true then where's my mom?" Wendy asked.

"This is going to be fun to explain now isn't. Now Wendy, I think that was what your name was, upon entering the land, these three killed your dear mother who had been waiting 500 years of you." Rogue told Wendy.

"Wait Wendy let me explain. When we came, she tried to kill us. We didn't have a choice." Jess tried to explain.

"Let's go Wendy. There's a place where you will be safe. I'll protect you from these murderers." As Rouge started to walk away, a pillar of fire appeared in from of him.

"Before you leave, let me ask you a question. Rogue is dead, so how are you Rogue?" Romeo asked.

"How could I be dead if I'm right here." Rogue reasoned.

"You aren't the Rogue from this world. I know because I saw this world's Rogue as he was killed." Romeo announced as he began to activate his magic.

"Well let's save some secrets for another time." Rouge said as a shadow began to form around Wendy, himself and the hatchlings. "Let's just say that this won't be our last meeting Romeo."

The shadow closed as everyone inside it instantly disappeared. The trio all looked at each other trying to figure out what just happened.

"So I'm guessing this is what the book was us about." Jason said.

"Seems like it." Romeo answered.

"Hold on a minute, Romeo how could there be two different Rogues. Isn't that impossible." Jess asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but it seems like the Dragon's aren't our only enemy now."

 **A/N: I'm not going to reveal everything which has happened immediately. Hope you guys enjoyed. Make sure to tell me your thoughts and any ideas you might have or how you might want this story to go. If you enjoyed, check out my other stories.**


	3. Sanctuary

**A/N: Here's the first story on my update list. Sorry for the long wait but here it is. Let me know your thoughts or any ideas you have about this. If you enjoy, make sure to Follow, Favorite, and/or Review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

Romeo, Jess and Jason were walking through a partially burned forest. They walked towards a river and saw many animals all gathered together.

"Let's take a quick break." Romeo told his companions.

Jason sat back against a tree and Jess jumped and laid under the shade of the tree. Romeo walked over to the water and filled up his bottle.

"So I know we've been together for awhile but I don't really know who you were before the dragons attacked. What were you guys doing prior to the dragons?" Jess asked.

"Before the dragons I didn't even know magic, I was just a boy. I was out playing with my friends when the news came. My parents took me and we left our home. We were attacked by hatchlings and I alone was saved by my master who taught me my magic. Although he died later on." Jason revealed. "What about you Jess, what did you do?"

"I was an orphan. I did whatever I had to to survive and I somehow taught myself magic, God slayer magic of all things. The town I lived in was being evacuated but many stayed because we thought that we could handle ourselves. I'm one of the few who survived the attack. I used to think that me being an orphan limited how someone could live. Now almost everyone is an orphan." Jess explained.

"That had to be rough." Jason replied.

"You lost your family in all this, if anything you had it hard." Jess argued.

"What about you Romeo, I know you hate talking about your past." Jason asked.

After a moment of silence, Romeo began to speak, "I was apart of a magic guild before all this. I was at ground zero when the dragons came. No one expected it, we were all in the middle of a celebration. I saw many of those close to me be killed. This scar on my eye was given to me when someone close to me saved me from death. But now all of them are dead."

After hearing about Romeo's past, Jess and Jason were quiet for a minute. Jess jumped up and began to stretch.

"So where is our next destination?"

"I'm not sure, we don't really have a goal right now." Romeo confessed.

The three froze as they heard a rustling. The three turned and was a man appear.

"Well I'll be, I didn't know that there were any people still alive out here." the man exclaimed.

"Wait, any people out here, are you saying there's a settlement?" Jess asked.

"That's right, a whole city of living people. We have homes and food and clean water. I'm out hunting for them right now." the man revealed.

"Can you take us there?" Romeo asked.

* * *

The three were sitting in a wagon beside some dead deer. The hunter was in the front riding the horse pulling the wagon.

"How is there a city still standing? Didn't the dragons decide to destroy everything?" Jason asked.

"Well not every dragon. Our city has dragons who live there and protect us. As long as we raise food to feed them then they let is live. Compared to what I've heard happens outside the city, this is quite ideal." The hunter revealed.

The three looked at each other with a similar look of disbelief.

"Are the people there happy?" Romeo asked.

"Well that's a hard question to answer. Not everyone likes the living conditions but we all get to live. No one openly talks against it because there are dragons in the form of humans living amongst us. None of us stand a chance of fighting them."

"This sounds too good to be true." Romeo muttered.

"If you look to the right, you can see the city."

The three looked outside the wagon and saw a large city surrounded by a wall. While most of the city couldn't be seen, what could be seen was in great condition.

"What country are we currently in?" Romeo asked.

"We are within the borders of Joya. In just a bit we will be at the wall. I believe that any outsiders are interviewed upon entry by the governor but I've never heard of anyone being rejected."

After a few minutes, the wagon arrived at the city. There were a couple of similar wagons ahead of theirs. A man walked up to the wagon who appeared to be a guard.

"So, how was today's hunt?" the guard asked.

"Great, I even found a few people out there." The hunter revealed.

The guard looked in the wagon and saw the three all sitting inside.

"Well then we need to tell the governor so he can interview them."

* * *

After about twenty minutes of waiting, Romeo, Jason and Jess were escorted into the city. They saw many people trying to run their businesses and kids playing together. They were taken to a building that wasn't to far from the gate. Once they entered, they were seated outside of a room with a man and woman standing outside. The man was dressed in a white shirt with a white tie. He also had on a pair of jeans. The woman was dressed like a secretary.

"Good afternoon, my name is Governor Chad Chaffee, but you can just call me Chad. Now I'm just going to interview you one by one just to learn about you. Afterwards I'll find a place for you to live and you can be on your way. Now can I interview you with the purple hair first."

Romeo was taken into the room where there was only a desk with three chairs. Romeo took a seat and Chad sat across from him. The woman took one of the chairs and moved it to the side of the desk where she sat.

"All right I'm just going to ask you some questions now, first off what's your name?" Chad asked.

"My name is Romeo Conbolt." Romeo answered.

"Tell me about yourself Romeo."

"Well I'm nineteen years old. I was born in Fiore. I've lost everyone and I'm now traveling with those two outside."

"What were your parents like?"

"My father, while very caring, was an alcoholic and I never met my mother."

"Are you a mage?"

"Yes I am, I use fire magic."

"Where were you when the dragons attacked?"

"I was with my family. We were having a celebration when the dragons appeared."

"What are your plans for the future?"

"Just living, I never thought that I'd see a city like this again. I thought that all of civilization was gone."

"You seen like a good guy if I'm being honest, but you need to plan for the future. That's how we survive and thrive. A man without a plan is basically like a wild animal."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you have any other questions?"

"Just a couple more. What are you hiding under your hair."

"Is it that obvious?"

Romeo pulled his hair up and showed Chad his scar. After a few seconds, Romeo let his hair back down.

"That's a mean scar, mind if I ask how you got it?" Chad asked.

"I was attacked by an animal when I was younger. It did this before someone killed it." Romeo replied.

"What have you been doing the last few years?"

"I've just been wandering the land. Originally I was trying to find a safe place to live but now it has just been a habit."

"Alright now I just have possibly two more questions. Have you ever killed a dragon before."

"Yes I have, that's how I'm still alive."

"Why?"

"Let me ask you a question, if someone ever tried to kill someone close to you, your parents, your child or your lover or anything do the sort, wouldn't you do the same if you could."

"If you don't mind, could I ask you another question."

"Sure but I want you to answer a question of mine afterwards."

"How did you manage to kill a dragon?"

"Not all dragons are on equal power. While there are a few that are extremely powerful, many can be beaten my capable mages." Romeo explained. "Now for my question, what do the dragons want from the humans living here. They wouldn't just protect so many people here for no reason."

"I honestly don't know. They decided to do it and I never questioned it." Chad explained. "All these people living here are now safe and that's fine with me."

"Alright, I just want to make sure that this place is safe if I'm bringing my companions here." Romeo revealed.

* * *

"Welcome, can you start with your name?" Chad asked.

"My name is Jess, what would you like to know?"

"Tell me about yourself, like you past and where you grew up."

"Let's see, well I was born in a town in Seven, I don't remember what it was called I'm seventeen years old, I saw an orphan before the dragons and I'm here now."

"What do you think about your companions?"

"They're nice. Jason is trying to make the most of everything and Romeo wants to protect us. I know that he's hiding his past from us but that's fine. Not everyone likes to talk about their past. I trust both of them with my life. They are the first people to care about my well being."

"What was it like being out there?"

"Everyday was different. Some days we'd be walking together for days and some we'd get attacked by a dragon or by some crazy people."

"Who would be the leader of your group?"

"Definitely Romeo, he always seems to have a plan. He seems to be trying to find something but I don't know what. He always looks out for our well-being."

"How long have you been traveling together?"

"For about a year and a half. We protect each other and keep each other safe. If it wasn't for Romeo and Jason, I'd definitely be dead now."

* * *

"I believe that your name is Jason right? Tell me about yourself."

"There isn't much to tell, I'm 16 years old. My family was killed and I eventually met up with Romeo and Jess."

"Where did you used to live?"

"I lived outside the capital of Bosco."

"How did you manage to dye your hair with everything going on?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Do you have anything you want?"

"I want the world to return to the way it was in the past."

* * *

"So, what do you think of these three?" the secretary asked.

"I think they are very interesting. They are hiding information but they aren't trying to hide it. Their words seem to contradict each other but they have the utmost trust in each other." Chad declared.

"Should we keep am eye on them?" the secretary wondered.

"No, they are more likely to leave then cause trouble for the people living here." Chad insisted.

* * *

Romeo, Jason and Jess were all relaxing inside of a room. Their temporary home, while not very big, was much better then how they'd normally live. After showering and putting on fresh clothes, they were ready to explore the town. Romeo was wearing an outfit almost identical to his old one. Jason wore a green hoodie with a black shirt. He also wore a black beanie on his head. Jess wore a white blouse with a red shirt. They each left the home and went off to explore. They walked town the community near them. They saw many shops with various items and many people in the nearby park.

After looking around, they decided to relax at the park. They were laying under the shade of a tree while children ran by, laughing. Romeo noticed a young girl walking towards him. The girl had dark green hair tied back in a ponytail and a cowboy hat. She had a brown vest on over a white top and a pair of blue shorts. The girl ran up and hugged Romeo.

"Asuka what are you doing?"

A pink haired woman ran over, stopping once she noticed Romeo. The woman wore a pink blouse and a white skirt. Romeo and her both stood staring at each other for a moment before Romeo stood up and walked over to her.

"Chelia…"

 **A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed. I'll be updating this more regularly from now on.**


	4. Every reunion comes at a price

**A/N: And welcome back to the chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. First off. I'd like to thank NyanMew123 for giving me a couple ideas for the story. I read the first chapter of Edens Zero and I'm looking forward to see more. If you enjoy make sure to Follow, Favorite, and/or Review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. If I did, then I'd use less of the whole friendship trope.**

"Chelia" Romeo uttered as Chelia pulled him into a hug.

"I can't believe that you're alive, I heard what happened and feared the worst." Chelia told Romeo.

"Hold up, you need to start explaining all this to us." Jess ordered.

"These are a couple of people I knew before the world went to shit. This is Chelia Blendy and the little cowgirl there is Asuka Connell." Romeo introduced as he turned towards his comrades. "And for you two, these two are my comrades that I've been traveling with for a while. This is Jess and Jason."

"It's very nice to meet you two." Chelia told the two teens.

"I'm glad that you guys could meet up like this, it isn't often that you meet someone from your past nowadays." Jess admitted.

"Well have you guys eaten yet?" Chelia asked.

"Not yet, we have been trying to explore the town." Romeo replied.

"Well let's go get something to eat, then I'll show you around." Chelia suggested.

* * *

After eating at a small restaurant, Chelia showed the trio around the city. Starting in the area they were in, they saw more of the park and many businesses. There were people performing different acts and other cleaning the city. Afterwards they headed further towards the center. They saw nice homes and larger parks and pools. This part of town was obviously a classier area although the people looked no different than anywhere else. There was a large library and another large building which looked to have caved in on again eating and exploring the town for hours, the sun was beginning to set. After arriving back at the park where they originally met, the group decided to rest, all except for Asuka who was playing at a playground.

"This city is huge, I'm surprised at that." Jason admitted.

"I'm pretty sure anyone who comes here will be surprised when they see it." Romeo agreed. "Tell me, how did you two find this place?"

"After Asuka and I left, we just started to travel. Eventually we ran into a caravan of people. We joined them for about a year. By the end of it, from a group of over eight people only about fifteen managed to find this place." Chelia explained.

"I was wondering, is Asuka your kid?" Jason asked.

"She's a kid of some old friends from my old guild. Her parents were like second parents to me and I've known Asuka since she was born." Romeo answered. "When everything started to go bad, I asked Chelia to take her her and try to find a safe haven."

"But after all the time I've spent with her, i think I can considers Asuka as my daughter." Chelia admitted.

"I didn't know that you were part of a guild." Jess exclaimed.

"You never told them about the guild, how long have you guys been traveling together?" Chelia asked.

"When we met up, we all knew that the past was a sensitive subject to we decided that none of us asked about each others past. We'd only learn if one of us wanted to voluntarily give the information." Romeo revealed.

"I have many questions I want to ask you but it can wait for now. I need to take Asuka home so she can sleep, but there's somewhere i want to take you three tonight." Chelia explained, "Are you guys up for a bit more exploring?"

"Let's go see what it is." Jess said enthusiastically.

"Asuka, it's time to go home!" Chelia called out to her adoptive daughter.

"Coming!" Asuka yelled as she ran over. "Romeo, I'm so glad that you're here."

"I'm also glad that I'm here. I didn't think I'd get to see you again." Romeo admitted.

"It's almost like it was when we were younger, when you'd take me to the park to play." Asuka reminisced

The group walked a couple of blocks to Chelia's home. After tucking Asuka into bed, Romeo, Jess, and Jason followed Chelia into a shadier part of town. They arrived outside a bar named _Laughing Demon_. They walked in and noticed an array of different people all scattered around the bar. They walked in and headed towards a man who was sitting at the bar. The man had a red dress shirt and black slacks on. He had black hair and brown eyes.

"Chelia, now tell me, who is this trio you've brought before me?" the man asked.

"This is my old friend Romeo and his comrades Jess and Jason. They have just arrived in the city." Chelia introduced the trio. "This man is named Makano, he led the caravan that brought Asuka and me here."

"Makano, its it's nice to meet you, I'd like to thank you for helping Asuka and Chelia get here alive." Romeo thanked.

"I'm just glad to see a friend of Chelia is still alive. A friend of Chelia is a friend of mine, just let me know if there is anything I can do for any of you." Makano told the trio.

"This bar is one of the few bars in the city. This one is where people who've tried to fight at one point when the dragons appeared usually gather." Chelia revealed.

"Well I know that I can definitely use a drink." Romeo said as he turned to the bartender. " Just get me whatever, it's been a while since I've had a real drink."

"It… it can't be..." a voice cried out.

Romeo and the group turned towards a name who was rushing towards them. The man looked normal besides a scar that went across his neck. The man ran over until he stood in front of Romeo. The man then dropped to his knees and started to tear up.

"Commander, I… I can't believe you're alive." the man sobbed.

"Charlie, you're alive, and you're here, I thought you died years ago." Romeo muttered.

"No I survived, but I heard what happened and I… I didn't think anyone could have survived that." Charlie cried with his face full of tears.

"Wait commander, where do you two meet each other?" Jason asked.

"Romeo it looks like you have a lot to tell us." Chelia declared.

"Yes you do." Jess agreed.

"Where do you want me to begin?" Romeo asked.

"Well if you don't mind, tell us about the guild you were in." Jason suggested.

"Alright, well I grew up in Fiore and I was part of the Fairy Tail guild. We used to be the greatest guild for years until many of our top members disappeared for seven years. Afterwards we fell towards the bottom. We started to grow but the the dragons attacked." Romeo revealed.

"Romeo, tell us what happened, from the beginning." Chelia asked

"Well when I was traveling on my own, I met these two knuckleheads," Romeo started.

"No, from the beginning." Chelia instsited.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Romeo was hiding inside of a broken building, holding onto his bleeding arm. With all the chaos going on, Romeo wasn't sure what to do. The dragons attacking was bad enough, but with the hatchlings attacking as well, everything seemed hopeless. Everything had gone so wrong. All the guilds were partying due to the Grand Magic Games being over. Fairy Tail had managed to come out on top. But seemingly out of nowhere, dragons started to appear. They bursted out of the Mercurius Castle. A seemly endless amount appeared and began to attack. Many of the mages present tried to fight back, but were mercilessly slaughtered. Romeo was helping his dad and Wakaba evacuate civilians when a dragon flew overhead. The dragon dropped hundreds of eggs that hat had into humanlike hatchlings. Before his very eyes, both Macao and Wakaba were killed. Romeo managed to escape but he knew that he was helpless.

Romeo heard the roar of multiple dragons nearby as something crashed into the building and landed next to him. Romeo noticed that this thing was Natsu.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Romeo asked.

"Romeo, what are you doing here by yourself?" Natsu questioned. "Where's your dad?"

Romeo simply turned his head away with tears appearing. Natsu saw this and instantly realized the situation.

"You're the first living person I've seen in a while." Romeo revealed.

Natsu realized that Romeo wouldn't stand a chance fighting the dragons and placed his hands on Romeo's shoulders.

"Romeo, I need you to get out of here. Not just the area, but the entire city. I saw many mages evacuating because this is a losing battle. Even with all the dragon slayers here, we can't win this battle." Natsu revealed.

"There has to be a way, we can't just lose this right?" Romeo asked.

"Right now, there is no way, but I need you to survive, find the guild and tell them this, not all the dragons have the same strength. Many of the dragons are significantly weaker that the first ones that attacked. With this information, we have a chance at winning, but we can't win today." Natsu told Romeo.

"But, we have to win, you always win that's what you do, you'll win right?" Romeo asked with tears falling from his eyes.

"No, but I need you to survive. With all the dragons and everything around here, it might be impossible for you to escape right now. I'm going to be bait to help you escape." Natsu explained.

"No, there has to be a way for us both to survive." Romeo pleaded.

Natsu took his jacket off and showed Romeo a large, gaping wound near his lower back.

"I'm not going to survive this battle regardless, but you will." Natsu took off his scarf and put it around Romeo's neck. "I'm going to take down as many of those overgrown lizards as I can. You need to run. Get as far away from Crocus as possible, then try to find anyone who might have survived from the guild. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do." Romeo confirmed.

"Good, now get ready to run."

Natsu walked over towards the exit of the building before he stopped and turned back around. "Romeo, if it's you I know you'll find a way through all this. You are a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for."

After saying these last words, Natsu ran out of the building and disappeared from sight. Romeo started to head towards the exit but nearly tripped over something on the ground. Romeo looked and noticed a book lying on the ground. Romeo could feel a strange energy being exerted from the book so he decided to take it with him. Romeo ran out of the city, never to return.

* * *

After hours of continuous running, Romeo finally collapsed. Romeo's body was drenched in his own sweat. Romeo looked up off the ground and noticed a small stream. Romeo crawled over to the stream and drank some of the water. Romeo drank until he could no longer drink. Romeo then past out from exhaustion. Once Romeo woke up, it was getting dark. Romeo make his body get up and made it to his feet. Romeo still felt exhausted and now felt a hunger that he had never felt before. Romeo walked over to a nearby tree and used it to felt keep himself on his feet. Romeo looked over and noticed a deer standing by some brush. Romeo aimed his hand and shot a large amount of hire towards the deer. The deer was hit and became severely burned. Romeo headed towards the deer and began to eat what he could from the deer. Afterwards Romeo sat against a tree and fell asleep. Once Romeo had woken up, he cleaned himself up in the stream and stared at the book he brought with him. The book seemed to be very old. The book had a black cover with no clear indication on what it was about. Romeo opened the book and noticed that the pages seemed to be very worn. Romeo noticed that the book appeared to be handwritten, with many words either faded to the point that it wasn't legible or crossed out completely. From the way the book was, it appeared to be a spellbook.

"Fire, while it can easily destroy, has been a tool to help advance man since the early ages." Romeo read aloud. "Those who have learned to control fire can grow and advance. Some early civilizations believed that fire was originally a gift from the gods. My recordings come from one who has learned to become one with fire."

Romeo moved into the nearby cave and started a fire inside the cave. After reading what Romeo thought to be useless exposition, Romeo found a spell.

"A true fire mage can take in all fire and use it in various situations. Even if the fire was not created by the caster, a fire mage can learn to control it. With great practice, even a single ember can be used to create a great flame. A flame can… great, I can't read the next couple of sentences. Oh well, where was I, …Up to a level where the caster can become a flame. Each flame has the potential to become… and I can't read that either." Romeo screamed with frustration.

* * *

After the dragons appearance, Romeo stayed in that forest for eight months. Each day Romeo trained using the spells that he learned from the spellbook. Both Romeo's magic capacity and his strength had increased. While staying in the forest, Romeo had not encountered a single person. A few dragons had flew over the forest but Romeo had remained alone those many months. Eventually Romeo decided that it was time for him to leave the forest. Romeo traveled away from the direction he thought the capital was located. After traveling for a week, he found a destroyed town. Romeo found an old clothing store and decided to grab some new clothes. Romeo decided to wear a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless black shirt. Romeo tied Natsu's scarf around his waist like a belt. Since Romeo hadn't had his hair cut it was now quite long and unruly. It went down near his shoulders. Romeo found a grey bandana and tied it on his forehead to keep his hair out of his face. Romeo grabbed a pair of grey running shoes and replaced his broken sandals. Romeo found a small bag and took it with an extra pair of clothes.

Romeo left once he heard the cry of hatchlings. Romeo was about to leave town when he was a tornado appear created with black wind. Romeo began to rush towards where he saw the fighting happening. When Romeo got close, he realized that the fighting was happening in a lower part of the town. He saw Chelia and Wendy with about seven other people standing behind them. Romeo saw about a dozen hatchlings standing in front of them preparing to fire a laser from inside their mouths. Without hesitation, Romeo jumped down and fired a large column of flame at the hatchlings. The hatchlings were hit and disappeared in the flames. The flames remained and continued to burn the hatchlings. Romeo landed in between the fire and the humans.

"Well that went better than I thought." Romeo said to himself.

"Romeo is that you?" Wendy asked.

Romeo turned towards Wendy and flashed a toothy grin. "Yes it's me, I'm glad to see that you're alive.

Wendy pulled Romeo into a hug and cried tears of relief. "We all thought that you died."

"I don't mean to break up the reunion but there's still the dragonlings to deal with." Chelia interrupted.

"I'm pretty sure their dead." Romeo commented. "And I think hatchlings are a better name."

"And how are you sure of that?" Chelia asked.

"Well let's just saw that I don't feel them in the fire anymore. So I'm pretty sure we are in the clear." Romeo answered.

"What do you mean that you don't feel them?" Chelia questioned.

"I'll trust his intuition, now where have you been?" Wendy asked.

"After everything happened I ran into a forest and I've been there since. I've been training there." Romeo revealed.

"You know, if you were alive you would have been a great help this last year." Chelia jabbed.

"Year, I've only counted eight months. What do you mean year?" Romeo asked.

"Well have time for questions when we get back to the camp. Let's head there before we run into any more trouble." Wendy suggested.

Everyone left following the sky sisters as Romeo kept asking about the year.

* * *

Once they arrived at the camp, Romeo marvelled at what he saw. The camp was hidden about three miles away from city. Romeo could see dozens of tents with even more people. Romeo saw many people who seemed to be guards patrolling the area. Once they entered the camp, Wendy and Chelia brought Romeo over to an area on the other side of the camp. Once Romeo got there he recognized many faces. Romeo saw Cana, Levy, Lucy, Max, Lisanna, Juvia, Bixlow, Freed, Lyon, and a few other people he didn't recognize.

"Romeo is that you?" Cana asked.

"Hey, its it's been a while." Romeo replied.

Afterwards, Romeo was brought into more hugs. Romeo took a seat with everyone and they formed a circle around a firepit. Romeo learned that the people he didn't recognized were Jellal, Meredy, and Yukino.

"Romeo where have you been? After everything went to shit we thought that you died." Cana asked.

"I probably would have died, but Natsu helped me escape. He took on all the attention he could into himself to let me escape." Romeo revealed. "Is there anyone else who escaped?"

"Kinana is somewhere else with Asuka, but that's everyone we know is alive." Lisanna answered.

"I need to know, how long has it been since the dragons appeared?" Romeo asked.

"I've been keeping track. It's been one year and eleven days exactly." Levy replied.

"Oh, from my count it's only been around eight months." Romeo revealed. "How am I missing four months?"

"Maybe you just didn't keep track correctly." Juvia suggested.

Romeo pulled out an old journal and showed it to the group. "Everyday I've written into this journal. There shouldn't be a way I'm this off… unless."

"Romeo you probably are just overthinking it. Some of these days just seem to disappear nowadays." Cana interrupted.

"Probably, how long has this camp been here?" Romeo asked.

"This camp has been here for about nine months. We've been helping keep it running for about six months." Jellal answered.

"Romeo, you said you were trailing when we found you earlier. How have you been training?" Wendy asked.

"I found an old spellbook before I fled Crocus. It seemed to be written by an old wizard who used fire magic. I've been trying to replicate the spells written in it." Romeo revealed. "Although it's an old book so I can't read everything in it. A lot of the words are faded."

"Guys, we should tell him." Lucy told the group.

"Tell me what?" Romeo asked.

"We have a plan to try and fix everything." Levy began to explain.

"We might have found a way to go back into the past." Lucy finished.

 **A/N: Tell me what you guys thought. More backstory to come and more to connect to the original story. Not everyone survives disasters and that was one problem I had with Fairy Tail, everyone usually survived except a couple exceptions. We if you have any ideas or feedback, then let me know either in a PM or in the Reviews.**


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